Illegalize Smoking

by Michael S

Medical costs associated with smoking "exceed $193 billion annually." (See http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/overview.htm#2). Medical costs associated with second hand-smoking adds another $10 billion a year. (See http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/17/news/economy/secondhand_smoke/index.htm)

Together smoking represents 9.2% of our annual health care spending, and illegalizing it would save an equal amount. It saves significantly more than electronic records ($80 billion/year) and is smarter than many other pseudo-solutions out there.

Chronic Drugs

by Patricia N

I have had allergies and asthma my entire life. I have managed them well. I have taken the same prescriptions for over 10 years. I think it is a waste to have to go to my physician to keep getting refills for these drugs. I pay him $25 and my medical insurance pays him another $50-$60. All he does is tell me "yep-keep taking the pills - things are working." Plus, the fact that I have to waste over an hour waiting for him to come in and see me to talk to me for 5 minutes. I do understand the importance of seeing a physician, but I feel I am capable of knowing when that is.